Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)

BOBROVSZKY Ida: Három gótizáló ötvösmű Kecskemétről

commisioned with the repair or renewal of a Gothic object, and developed a combination of styles. The success of the idea is demonstrated by the fact that a series of Gothic-style beakers for everyday use was ordered from him. These beakers were marked, dated and equipped with the names of the customers; they are exciting pieces both for their surprising stylistic combination, appearing in an area that was ruled by the Turks, and for the adventures they suffered later. The beaker bearing the name of Mihály Erdős and Erzsébet Biró, now in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum, was made in 1631; the one with the name István Szabó, in Byzantine Museum of Athens, in 1632, while the third one with Benedek Mészáros

's name, owned by the Calvinist Church of Tószeg, was produced in 1637. The beakers consist of several unmatching parts. The upper part is a cup resembling to the top of a goblet, decorated with engraved flowers, inscriptions and dates along the rim and with lily moulding at the bottom. The moulding is supported by a stranded wire wreath. The middle part is modelled on a part of a Gothic reliquary, enriched with tracery windows and small towers. They were fit in the beakers upside down, for this was the only possible way to shape the beaker and ensure the approppriate hold. The bottom is a foot and a node, with embossed decoration. The two parts are joined by a component which was meant to be a supplement to the Gothic part. The three beakers show little difference, the composition is the same in each case. With these beakers we can have an idea about the precious metal sets of the wealthy civic households in the middle of Hungary, which we know only from written sources. These sets were partly good ways to invest money, partly they served representational purposes. On the other hand, they were easy to hide, secure or present if necessary. For people living in the area ruled by the Turks, the above points of view were rather important, since passing Turkish armies, looters and raiders of various nations, and officers of the Turkish administration sometimes had to be presented and at the same time all valuables had to be protected, secured and hidden from them. The repeated orders for Gothic-style beakers are a sure sign of success. It is possible that with luck - like in the case of the beaker found in Athens - other samples of the same type can be found. The lack of the donátor 's inscriptions support the presumption that they were made for civil use. The beaker marked with the names Mihály Erdős and Erzsébet Biró was acquired by the Hungarian National Museum with the collection of Miklós Jankovich.

13 The beaker of the Byzantine Museum, with the name of János Szabó, comes from the monastery of St. John of Prodromos, in Serre (Macedonia, North-Greece); it had been presented to the monastery by Grecians fleeing from Asia Minor.

11 The beaker was probably brought to the Balcan peninsula and then to Asia Minor by Greek merchants who often travelled through Hungary at the time of the Turkish reign. Plenty of relics of Hungarian goldsmith art were taken away this way, which are now in the collections of various museums, such as the Byzantine Museum. These, however, can only accidentally be recognized by a Hungarian researcher. The beaker with the inscription Benedek Mészáros was probably acquired by the Calvinist Church of Tószeg through a bequest, that's why no inscriptions note the donation. The Gothic-style beakers of György Cseh influenced not only his contemporaries.